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His national and international policies – including the effort to overturn the election five years ago to current incursions and threats – undermine not only domestic and international legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.

A moral purpose of civilized society is to stop the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Failing that, we would be locked in a state of nature where only the fittest prevails.

This principle is central of America’s founding documents. It’s also the foundation of the global system established after WWII championed by the US, emphasizing collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a vulnerable ideal, often broken by those who seek to abuse their influence. Maintaining it necessitates that the those in charge have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Absolute power is not right. It leads to turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.

Whenever people or corporations or countries that are advantaged target and use those that are not, the structure of society frays. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.

We now inhabit a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.

The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to further concentrate resources and influence even more. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in recorded history.

Empowered by political allies and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of government in history.

Put it all together and you grasp the looming crisis.

A clear connection connects previous transgressions to present-day threats. Each were founded upon the hubris of invincibility.

One observes parallel dynamics in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.

However, raw power does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and bloodshed.

The lessons of the past reveal that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time lead to their downfall – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten global conflict.

This blatant contempt for legal order will haunt international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for a long time.